A place where beginners can participate, ask questions, and post their views. However, beginners typically ask a lot of questions about sources, tricks, books, and so on. In fact, all magicians are interested (or should be) in the provenance of tricks, ideas, and related matters. This department will service these needs.

This area of the Beginners Forum is really not getting enough attention. Perhaps we should all contribute what we know to be some basics that every young magician should know. For example, are they (even us 65 year-old enthusiasts) going to just do tricks, or should we here on this forum and in Genii Magazine strive to groom the kids and ourselves in the "entertainment" field?

Let us put forth two questions:

(1) What do I as a new magician need to know and learn to be an effective magical entertainer?

(2) What can we, as elder statesmen in the magic field, contribute to the newcomers, to make them truely magical entertainers?

Strive for originality in selection of material and in presentational style.

Read everything. Never let someone tell you that you don't need to learn this or that, everything is a potential tool and worth exploring.

Decide what you want to be in the world of magic, a hobbiest who does it for fun, an amateur who is impassioned, someone with a magic act who does their job, or a real magician whose goal is to help in the evolution of the art. All paths are valid, and all require a different investment. Know who you are, who you want to be, and don't pretend to be something you are not.

When you start researching an effect, ask yourself why you want to learn it. Is it to set yourself apart from others, or make yourself more like another? Try to understand why these two paths are different, and where they lead.

Respect your elders but know that only you have to live with the choices you make. Understand why they say what they do before you decide to do something different. When you do something different, commit with all your heart.

Try to understand that there is a difference between knowing the method and knowing the secret; that knowledge and wisdom are two different things. Don't presume you have wisdom simply because you posses knowledge. If you want to be wise, go make magic in the world. Keep your ears open, and listen to your audiences.

Always listen to your audiences more than you listen to other magicians. No matter how many posts they have on an online forum.

Disagreement is good. Prove us wrong. Don't rationalize.

Magic is only real when it is being performed. If you are not making magic for others, you are not a magician. If you want to talk like a magician, be respected as a magician, be a magician.